Sunnyside sewer may need major overhaul

A sewer outfall line located in Sunnyside City is in "rough shape" and a "major overhaul" may be needed to help fix problems associated with it, according to Warren Monroe, a senior construction manager with Jones and DeMille Engineering.

An agreement between the city and Jones and DeMille had the engineering company look at the sewer line to determine if there were any problems with backup in the line. Twin "D" Inc., used video equipment to look into the line and after looking at some of the feedback "things look pretty rough," according to Monroe.

"We knew there would be problems before looking into the line," Monroe said. "No work has been done for some time on the line. Sludge, rocks, sediments and other foreign objects are located in the bottom of the manholes." Certain sections of the line needed to be cleaned multiple times to better assess the line's condition, Monroe added.

East Carbon noticed there was a buildup on the sewer line that is independent from their collection system. About two inches of a 12 inch pipe, carrying raw effluent from Sunnyside City into the common outfall line of East Carbon, was backing up, Monroe said.

About 6,200 feet of line was looked at during the survey. During the survey there were 47 different roots where the root balls were so big the camera put into the line could not pass through. Also there were 34 different cracks in the pipeline in numerous sections of the line and about seven different places where there are holes in the line.

"There is evidence that within the last six months that sewage has backed up and is spilling out through the holes in that pipe," Monroe said. "Sunnyside should think about doing a major project."

The lines in questions are made of different types of material including concrete, clay and steel and some of the concrete pipes are about 20 years old.

There was debate between East Carbon and Sunnyside over the ownership of the line and the inter-local agreement says that Sunnyside owns the concrete pipe clear into East Carbon City going all the way to the main manhole intersection at Grassy Trail and Wilkins, according to Monroe.

With all of the information provided to them, the council began discussing their next move on the issue. Monroe said the city council first needs to wait for a response from rural development on the grant of their contribution for the project to pay for the rest of the engineering costs for checking the lines. Jones and DeMille is into the project for about $7,000, Monroe said.

"It's obvious there is a need for a project," Monroe said. "It needs a major overhaul."

Councilman Tony Riffle suggested that the city look into fixing and replacing all of the pipeline instead of just fixing certain sections of the pipe. This would take away the possibility of having to go back soon after and do more work on the line, he said.

"I've seen this done so many times, just get it done. Get it done right and then you don't have to worry about it later," Riffle said.